Alaska Wildlife
Alaska’s oceans support an enormous diversity of marine life. Alaska has more marine mammals, seabirds, fish, shellfish and shoreline than the rest of the nation combined. The offshore ecosystem supports the nation’s largest fisheries and the oldest subsistence tradition. Many of America’s beloved sea animals depend on Alaska’s oceans, including polar bears, whales, sea otters, sea lions and walrus.
The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are distinctly different from lower latitude seas and make direct and important contributions to global ocean and climate systems.
- The Chukchi Sea: This pristine ocean area between Alaska and Russia supports approximately one-tenth of the world’s remaining polar bear population. The Chukchi Sea is also a spring and fall migration route for bowhead and beluga whales, a feeding area for gray and finback whales and Pacific walrus, and habitat for migratory birds.
- The Beaufort Sea: This Sea lies off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the sprawling Prudhoe Bay oil complex. Ranging from Canada to Barrow, Alaska, this area is home to another one-tenth of the world’s polar bears. The Beaufort Sea is also a main artery for bowhead and beluga migrations, and its continued health is critical for seals and walrus.
Critical estuaries, bays, inlets and river outlets line the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea coasts and provide breeding grounds for millions of birds, including endangered and threatened species such as the spectacled and Steller’s eider, and Kittlitz’s murrelet. Polar cod, capelin and other fish spawn in these shallow waters and are primary food sources for the Arctic’s wildlife.
The Chukchi Sea is the most productive high latitude ocean system in the Arctic. Its shallow and highly productive sea floor allows bottom-dwelling prey to flourish, creating a buffet for wildlife specialized to feed off the ocean floor, such as walrus, seals, gray whales, and deep-diving sea birds, including the threatened spectacled eider.
Critical estuaries, bays, inlets and river outlets line the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea coasts and provide breeding grounds for millions of birds, including endangered and threatened species such as the spectacled and Steller’s eider, and Kittlitz’s murrelet. Polar cod, capelin and other fish spawn in these shallow waters and are primary food sources for the Arctic’s wildlife.
Multiple conservation areas containing unique resources and values are located in or adjacent to the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. They include: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge; Bering Land Bridge National Preserve; Cape Krusenstern National Monument; Ledyard Bay Critical Habitat Area; Teshekpuk Lake Special Area and Kasegaluk Lagoon, Dease Inlet, and Peard Bay.
